“We're actually somewhat less hawkish than before, which means we could ease cut rates in Q3 or Q4 this year,” he said during a press briefing Thursday afternoon. “So the second half of this year.”
He added that the eagerly anticipated reduction in the central bank’s key interest rate — which influences lending rates across the Philippine economy — may happen as early as August this year.
“There was a good [inflation] number in April 3.8%,” Remolona explained. “That was mainly driven by rice inflation, but also 3.8% was better than expected.”
The central bank chief said the latest inflation figure is “better than it looks” because it took into account some positive base effects along with other factors he described as “good news in terms of inflation.”
Senior Reporter
